Improvement in automatically-operated pans for water-closets



Meara-w its i genitali www WILLIAM A. BUTLER, or NEW Youri, Y.

Letters Patent No. 85,431, lated December 29,1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATICALLY-OPERATED FANS FOR WATER-CLOSETS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. BUTLER, of the city, county, and State of'New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in 'Vater- Closets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this speciiication, and in which- Figine l represents a front ele ration of a watercloset with the front board thereto removed, and having my improvementapplied to it, and

Figure 2 a sectional elevation of the same, taken centrally through the bowl of the closet, in a plane parallel to iig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This improvement relates to that description of water-closets which employ a soil-pan arranged within a receiver, below the usual earthenware or other bowl, said pan being made to tilt or tip for the purpose of discharging its contents.

My invention, in this connection, consists- First, in a combination of mechanism with a rising and -falling seat to the closet and tilting or tipping 'soilpan, in such manner as that, on the person, by its Weight or pressure, being applied to the seat, the pan is caused to automatically adjust itself to a receivingposition below the bowl, and, on such weight or pressure being removed, to automatically tip, for the purpose of discharging its contents, and whereby the usual cup-pull, or other hand-device heretofore provided panclosets for operating the soil-pan, may he dispensed with, and a regularity and certainty secured, as regards freeing the pan of its offensive matter, upon each Aand every occasion of the closets use.

Said invention also includes La combination of two tilting or tipping-pans, operating in a consecutive manner below the bowl, the one as a fresh-water trap, when the closet is not in use, and the other as a .soil-receptacle, while the closet is being used.

Likewise, the invention embraces a combination, with fresh-water and soil-pans, operating in a 'consecutive manner, as just referred to, of mechanism and a rising and falling seat, in such manner as that said pans are made to automatically adjust and empty themselves l by or on weight or pressure of the person being applied so far as this invention is concerned, is not the purpose here sought to be attained.

E is the usual lid or top cover, hinged in the rear, and which is thrown up or back when the closet is required to be used.

B is the tilting or tipping soil-pan, secured to a shaft,

vI), to give to it the usual hinged character or action, for

the purpose of adjusting it to a receiving-position under the bowl B, and away from the latter, or to one side, when discharging.

G is a similarly-tilting or tipping fresh-water pan, secured to a shaft, c, arranged on the opposite side of the bowl to the shaft b, said pan G- operating, relatively to the bowl, to receive and discharge, as or in a similar manner to that described for the soil-pan.

A In the annexed drawing, the soil-pan F is represented in discharging-position, and the fresh-water pan or trap G in its' receiving-'position by black lines, and as discharging, in red lines.

These pans are designed to be used consecutively, and may, if desired, be operated by a cup-pull, or other hand-device, in connection with weights or springs, or their equivalents, in such manner as that the watertrap or pan G remains in receivingeposition, under the bowl, when the closet is not in use, receiving a supply of fresh water by or through any suitable means, each time it is so adjusted, but moving out of the way, or tipping, and the 'soil-panl being adjusted to a-receivingposition in its place under the bowl while the closet is being used; but it is preferreiil to eiiect this automatically Aby or on pressure being applied to or removed from the seat, the mechanism for doing which may be varied, though the means represented in the drawing suffice to explain how this may be done; also how the soil-pan, whether used separately, or combined with a fresh-water pan, may be likewise automatically' adjusted by similar action or pressure, through suitable mechanism connecting it with the seat, to change it from a receiving to a disc-harging-position, and cioe rel-sc.

Thus H isla vertically-sliding bar, working in or through guides, 1l (l, and forced upwards by a spring, I, while it has adownward stroke or action given toit by the seat D, on the latter being sat upon or pressed down, by or through a projection, e, secured to the seat. rEhe upward stroke oi" this bar may be limited by a Stop: f' i n Secured to said bar H is a piece, formed with jaws, J J', which clip in a freeor loose manner, that is, with a certain amount of vertical play, pins or rollers s s arranged to form eccentric projections on wheels K K.,

The one, K, of these wheels gears with a wheel, L, which, in its turn, gears with a pinion, M, and this again in its turn with a pinion, N, fast to the soil-pa shaft b, which carries a weighted lever, O.

The other, K', of said wheels gears with a wheel, L', which, in its turn, gears with a pinion, M', on the Water-pau shaft c, that has secured to it a weighted lever, O.

The operation is as follows:

When no pressure or weight is applied to the seat D, the bar H occupies the raised position represented for it by black lines in fig. l, which bar, by its gear with the pans F G, as described, causes the water-pan G to remain in receiving-position under the bowl B, as represented by black lines in fig. 2, its weighted lever O being then situated as shown by black lines in fig. l, and the soil-pan F being in discharging-position, as shown in iig. 2, audits weighted lever O, as represented by black lines in iig. 1.

Upon the seat D, however, being sat upon or pressed down, and through it the bar H, as indicated by red lines in iig. l, the position of the pans F and G is reversed, the soil-pan F coming into receiving-position under the bowl, and the water-trap or pan G into discharging-position, as shown by red lilies in iig, 2, the weighted levers O O occupying the changed relationship indicated by red lines in iig. L rlhese weighted levers serve to throw or operate the pans after they haye been started, and to hold the pans to their adjustments, as effected by pressure applied to, or removed from the seat,

On pressure being removed from the seat again, the pans F and G assume their normal positions, the waterpan G always being under the bowl to form a freshwater trap when the closet isA not in use, and as, by the operation herein described of these reversely and consecutively-operating pans, the water-pan G never receives the soil, but always a supply of fresh water each time the closet has been used, and remains soilled till the closet is used again, there can be no escape of offensive eiuvia. vThe action, too, being automatic,

both as regards the soil-pan and water trap, there is nothing left to carelessness or chance, as regards the discharge of soil and sealing of the bowl by water after the closet has been used.

ABy employment also of the additional or separate pan G, never receiving soil, and acting as a stopper to the bowl at its bottom, or below it, when the closet is not in use, there will not be that objection which would attach to a single or soil-pan only, should the watersnpply fail, as is frequently the case.'

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent. is

1. A pan-closet, in which the soil-pan is automatically adj usted to its receiving and discharging-positions, through pressure applied to and removed from Athe seat by means ofthe sliding bar H operating thereon through its jaws J J' and' spur-wheels K L M, substantially as speciiied.

2. The combination, in a water-closet, of the tilting or tipping-pans F and G, operating in a consecutive manner, the one as a fresh-water trap, and the other as a soil-receptacle, essentially as herein set forth.

3. The combination, with the rising and falling seat D, of the fresh-water pan G and soil-pan F, in such manner as that weight applied to and removed from the seat will serve automatically to adjust the pans relatively to the bowl B, to ni'ake the one pan, G, act as a water-trap when the closet is not in useJ and the other pan, F, as a soil-receptacle whileor as the closet is being used, and afterwards to tilt or tip to effect its discharge, substantially as described,

y WM. A. BUTLER. Witnesses:

A. LE CLERC, EDWD P. TRACY. 

